Tag Archives: drugs-in-sport

I have just heard about the tragic passing of Adelaide Crows coach Phil Walsh. In my time following football or sport for that matter, I cannot remember a current sportsman being murdered. I must say I am a bit stunned and shocked and I wonder how this will impact on the Crows players. If the game was tonight you would think it would not proceed. Not forgetting that he also spent some time at Geelong, so they would not be immune from the impact of this shocking event. This is unprecedented and goes beyond the grief of health related deaths that have impacted AFL clubs over recent years.

It was interesting to hear the commentary over the Sam Mitchell incident in the Hawthorn -v- Essendon game last Saturday. Yes it was a bit juvenile, but I am surprised there hasn’t been more of it and I am sure the Essendon players were not phased at all given what they have been through. It is also quite ironic given the Sam Lane article in the Age in 2012 lauding the Hawthorn supplement injection programme.

There was also a lot of debate in AFL circles this week about the leniency of the Buddy Franklin decision compared to the Bryce Gibbs suspension. Again it has to be referred back to the consequences. Franklin put Edwards out of the game for 20 minutes for testing, but he was able to come back on (albeit a bit early!). Gibbs put Robbie Gray out of the game and probably cost Port Adelaide the match. After Franklin was reported he only touched the ball once, so it could be construed that the report actually cost the Swans the game, so it was the reverse of the Gibbs outcome.

The other big story of the week was the continued issues with the Gold Coast Suns players and their illicit drug use, in particular Harley Bennell. There has been a lot of hysteria about this and I would urge people to take a deep breath and give the kid a chance. I hark back to Tom Liberatore and his issues in King Street a few years ago. The Bulldogs dealt with it and he became one of their best players. Young players will make mistakes and I think they all deserve a chance and if they keep making the same mistakes, then it is time to give them their marching orders.

Sportzfan Radio has been calling for this for a considerable period of time. This week Melbourne Football Club coach, Paul Roos and Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley have added their voices to this call. Buckley went as far as to say ‘if it’s a battle, we’re not winning it’ and wanted players to be held accountable for their behaviour.

The drugs policy indicates that the AFL does not condone the use of illicit substances and aims to identify AFL players who have substance abuse issues and place the necessary support around them to protect their health and wellbeing with a focus on education of the player. The policy includes a ‘three strikes’ component that means a player’s identity does not become public knowledge until he has been detected three times with illicit substances in his body.

First off let’s look at the word ‘illicit’. It means ‘forbidden by law, rules or customs’. In other words the policy can be described as the AFL’s illegal drug policy.

Interestingly, the AFL Player Code of Conduct that is incorporated into the standard AFL playing contract, is intended to ‘educate players on the importance of maintaining appropriate standards….’ and requires them to conduct themselves in a manner so as not to bring the game of Australian Rules into disrepute. The Code also indicates that AFL players must refrain from taking illicit and/or performance enhancing substances.

There are provisions in the Code that allow Clubs to penalise players where there has been a serious breach of the Code and, in cases of wilful misconduct, termination of the playing contract is open to the Club. I would argue that taking illegal drugs is a serious breach of the Code.

The problem with the current illicit drugs policy is that when a player is detected, he has already breached his playing contract with the Club. However, the Club is unaware of this until the third strike and is powerless to take any action it may deem appropriate. It is arguable that after a first strike and certainly after a second, the player comes within the ‘wilful misconduct’ provisions and could have his playing contract terminated. Without that knowledge of course, the Club is unable to act notwithstanding the player is engaged in illegal conduct.

Paul Roos’ analogy of ignoring motor car theft three times before taking action hopefully focusses those at AFL headquarters and the AFLPA on the problem of the current illicit drugs policy.

So Essendon players were injected with substances, but it appears no-one knows what was injected due to a ‘deplorable absence of records in the program relating to its administration’ (the AFL’s Anti-Doping Tribunal’s words not mine). Hardly a satisfactory conclusion to the matter but without the ability to compel witnesses to give evidence, there was always a high probability that this would be the outcome. Proof of the offence was ASADA’s Achilles’ heel.

Sportzfan Radio commentator, John O’Callaghan said after the announcement by ASADA at the outset of the supplement scandal, that no AFL player would be suspended. He was proved to be correct. He also called for drug offences in sport to be the subject of criminal proceedings so that investigations could be undertaken by the Police and proceedings be brought before the Courts. It appears in retrospect that his comments were prescient.

Timing is everything…….and I’ll bet that the AFL is also stunned at the exquisite timing of the ASADA announcement that two Collingwood FC player’s ‘A’ samples have tested positive to the drug Clenbuterol on the day before the AFL anti-doping Tribunal’s was to announce its verdict regarding the case involving Essendon FC players.

Clenbuterol is a ‘beta-2 agonist’ that can be used alone and in conjunction with other substances to promote growth of skeletal muscle and to reduce body fat. It is not approved for human use and is a banned class of drug under the World Anti-Doping Code. Athletes commonly use the drug to define muscle. Its best known user is Spanish cyclist, Alberto Contador, who was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title after testing positive to the drug.

With the ‘B’ samples yet to be tested, it is too early to pass judgment, however, the announcement by ASADA has certainly focussed even more attention on the drug cheats issue at a time when the AFL would like the subject to fall out of the headlines, especially with the opening game of the season less than 48 hours away.

Starting with the soccer World Cup, I must say my prognostication from about a month ago concerning Australia’s chances have come to fruition. I did suggest that while the Socceroos were unlikely to win a game, they would acquit themselves a lot better than most of the pundits and the public were expecting. As it stands after two games we have been highly competitive and very unlucky not to have secured a point from either game. The table for Group B at the moment has the 59th ranked Australian team ahead of the 1st ranked Spanish team. Not a bad result in that group. Save for Tim Cahill, who is not really a striker, we have lacked a world class finisher with several chances not being put in the back of the net. It is a bit of a shame that Robbie Kruse has been injured, while not being top shelf, he is still probably Australia’s best man up front. Hopefully he will be fit for the Asian Cup. It would be great to secure a draw or better against Spain.

Great to see Patty Mills and Aaron Baynes being a part of the NBA championship winning San Antonio Spurs. Mills really made a contribution and is now on the radar for several big NBA franchises. I read during the week that he only secured an AIS scholarship when Scott Pendelbury knocked it back. Who knows what might have happened if he did not get that opportunity. He could be playing for the Sydney Swans!

Other Australians to be successful at the highest level this week were the Kookaburras, who beat the Netherlands easily in the World Cup of hockey. I am not a big hockey fan, but those that love the sport, really love it. It always good to see Aussies successful even if it is an area that you don’t have a great deal of interest.

The Essendon supplements saga is dominating the airwaves again and while I do not want to spend too much time on it, there was one comment that I could not resist responding to. On Saturday night Sam Lane confirmed that she had seen one of the show cause notices served on the Essendon players. Luke Darcy then asked her if she would take the six months that was offered. She responded in the affirmative. How can she possibly put herself in the shoes of the Essendon players and make judgement based on a “show cause” notice! It beggars belief. When asked the same question by Bryan Taylor later in the show she was a bit more circumspect, but if this type of dribble continues how are the Essendon players and the club going to get a decent hearing in the court of public opinion. Don’t forget that last year Jobe Watson was persecuted for his revelation that he may have been administered AOD9604. ASADA have now confirmed that this preparation only became banned after April 2013. Have any of his persecutors like Tim Lane (Sam’s father) apologised to him? I think not.

I was also bemused that Collingwood played the Western Bulldogs at Etihad as a home game and conversely, Essendon played Melbourne at the MCG as their home game. As fate would have it, both “home” sides lost. I am not suggesting that this issue cost Essendon the game on Sunday evening, the Dees did very well and how the Bombers let the last goal through means that their lapse against Hawthorn earlier in the year has not improved their capacity to think under pressure.

Well Australia well and truly got a touch up in the 2nd Test in Port Elizabeth. Losing ten wickets for about 90 runs when the openers have put on 120 is just not good enough, no matter how good the opposition bowling is. Again there has been discussions about the Decision Review System with players being given out on very flimsy evidence and I remain of the view that the decisions should revert
to the central umpires unless they call for a review.

I would also like to make a comment about the umpires allowing the extra thirty minutes of play at the end of Day 4. Having granted the South African’s the extra thirty minutes, I think the umpires were under extra pressure to see that it was justified. Ryan Harris was given out LBW by umpire Dharmasena, when that umpire had hardly made decision all test and it was such a marginal decision that the commentators thought on first view that it was too high, but the ball tracker showed it just clipping the stumps so he was on his way. They had no say in Rogers poor decision to take a run, but then Lyon was given out when he snicked the ball into his pads. Two LBW decisions that could have gone either way going against the side who didn’t want the extra thirty mins justifies the umpires decision to allow the extra time.

I don’t know if it made any difference as I didn’t hear if the forecast rain arrived the next day. Either way the South Africans deserved to win and whomever wins the toss in Cape Town will probably take the series.

Well another great performance by Jason Day to take the World Matchplay Championship and go to No 4 in the world. He could have wrapped it up a lot earlier, but he got there in the end despite the Frenchman executing tww of the best saves you will see in a long time. It is my prediction that he will win a major this year, more than likely one of the US tournaments.

I lot of discussion this week about Collingwood FC player, Marley Williams and whether he should be playing football given he has been convicted. Given the hysteria surrounding Andrew Lovett and Stephen Milne who weren’t or haven’t been found guilty perhaps the discussion has been rather muted, but I think he should be able to play until he is sentenced. He is a young player who needs the distraction of preparing and playing football, if he gets a custodial sentence he is out of the game anyway, but if
he gets a suspended sentence, then he has missed games that he probably didn’t have to. Any working person in the same position would have the expectation that they could work up until they were sentenced.

It would seem that the wheels of ASADA are now turning and hopefully the conclusion to the Essendon FC supplement scandal is not as drawn out as has been suggested. As stated last week I don’t think I am alone in saying that it has gone on for too long already.